THE Right Reverend Dr Christopher Herbert, former Bishop of St Albans and vicar of St Thomas-on-the Bourne, has called on council planners to ensure Farnham retains its “human-sized” character for generations to come.

Addressing guests at the historic 213th Farnham Venison Dinner held at Farnham Castle last Thursday, Dr Herbert enthusiastically accepted the Mayor of Farnham, Pat Frost’s invitation to be a “little controversial” and called for a bye-law banning “obese 4x4s” from the town as well as a more “human-sized” East Street development.

Dr Herbert, 71, served as vicar of St Thomas-on-the Bourne from 1981 to 1990 and retired to Farnham with his wife Jan after his 14-year tenure as Bishop of St Albans came to an end in 2009.

Joining a long list of prestigious speakers at the annual Venison Dinner, which dates back to 1605 when a feast was held to stop the townsfolk poaching deer from Farnham Park, Dr Herbert explained his affinity for the town’s architecture, parkland and people.

However, he also warned of several threats to its beauty - and chief among them the dangerous levels of hazardous pollutant NO2 routinely recorded in areas of Farnham town centre including The Borough and Station Hill.

Dr Herbert said: “The essence of the Farnham’s character is the fact the town is very human-sized. But what is not human-sized about this town are all the 4x4s that career around belching their diesel particulates everywhere.

“Try driving past any school at the end of the school day, and you cannot move for obese 4x4s. Why is it OK to worry about human obesity and not realise that overweight, fat cars are the bane of our town?

“To ensure that the human scale of our town is not destroyed, here’s a proposal: ban all 4x4s from Farnham. What I want is for the elderly and parents with little children to be able to walk down The Borough breathing clean air. Is it really beyond the wit of humankind to create a local bye-law to bring this about?”

Dr Herbert also took the opportunity at last week’s civic event to criticise Waverley Borough Council’s long-delayed redevelopment of East Street, adding this also threatens Farnham’s character and should be revised to more favourably reflect the town’s architecture.

Addressing the borough council directly, he continued: “Please Waverley, can we have a development that is also human-sized? One that respects the architectural language of our town; that does not batter us with the ego-driven greed of developers, that is not dominated by an outmoded reliance upon so-called anchor shops, but one which explicitly sets out to delight the eyes.

“What Farnham needs is a development that takes the richness of human culture as seriously as the current proposals seem to take shopping; that says here is an opportunity to try a new form of urban redevelopment where promenading can dominate, where human beings of all ages can flourish - not in spite of the buildings but because of them.

“This is a plea, a heart-felt plea for enlightened and sensitive imagination.”

Dr Herbert’s comments came in response to a ‘toast to Farnham’ by University for the Creative Arts’ pro-vice chancellor Professor Roni Brown, who praised the town for offering a “safe and wonderful environment” for creative arts eduction to flourish.

Prof Brown also discussed the value of creative education, its process of rethinking problems and “unique ability to challenge the status quo”, adding UCA was the highest ranking creative arts university in the UK last year.

Earlier in the evening, another speaker, the leader of Surrey County Council, David Hodge, linked the Venison Dinner to this year’s Magna Carta anniversary celebrations and specifically the Charter of the Forest of 1217 which re-established the rights of access to the royal forest for free men and repealed the death penalty for capturing venison.

Other toasts were given on the night by the mayor and chairman of the Venison Dinner Pat Frost, minister of the Farnham United Reformed Church Rev Michael Hopkins and president of the Venison Dinner Dame Elizabeth Anson.

Guests also enjoyed a four-course meal with the star attraction being the roasted saddle of venison, accompanied into the castle’s Great Hall by the chef and a piper dressed in full military regalia. ­